The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere

527 Pages·2013·3.3 MB·English

by  Patrick O’Mahony

New Visions
C
of the osmopolitan T
h
e

C
o
n
Normative democratic theory does not lie securely above societal
t
argumentation but is instead a crucial part of it. We need to know not e
m
just how the public should reason, but how it actually does reason, or
p
could reason in better foreseeable circumstances. After all, given the o
r
general societal and cosmopolitan challenges that we face, the health a
r
and the necessary extension of democracy fundamentally depends on y

the reasoning capacities of the public. The concept of the public sphere T
is intrinsic to understanding this process, but it has long been limited h
e
by its division into the twin approaches of normative argumentation o
r
in democratic theory and empirical-theoretical application in the social y

sciences. o
f

t
This book aims to go beyond this entrenched divide to show how h
e
democratic theory can become empirically applicable and the social
P
sciences normatively relevant. It does this by linking democratic theory u
b
to the theory of society and relating both to a cognitive-communicative
l
i
account of public culture. The book contributes significantly to exchanges c

within and between sociology, philosophy, cultural and communication S
p
studies, political science, and cognate disciplines. It also aims to address
h
a long-established concern of critical theory by combining empirical and e
r
normative perspectives to advance the goal of a better society. e
P
a
t
r
i
Patrick O’Mahony is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of c
k
The Contemporary Theory
Sociology and Philosophy at University College Cork, Ireland. His O
work has been dedicated for many years to clarifying fundamental ’
M
normative and empirical-theoretical dimensions of public discourse and a of the Public Sphere
public culture, in fields such as nationalism and trans-nationalism, the h
o
environment, and science and technology. n
y
ISBN 978-3-0343-0146-6
Patrick O’Mahony
www.peterlang.com
Peter Lang
New Visions
C
of the osmopolitan T
h
e

C
o
n
Normative democratic theory does not lie securely above societal
t
argumentation but is instead a crucial part of it. We need to know not e
m
just how the public should reason, but how it actually does reason, or
p
could reason in better foreseeable circumstances. After all, given the o
r
general societal and cosmopolitan challenges that we face, the health a
r
and the necessary extension of democracy fundamentally depends on y

the reasoning capacities of the public. The concept of the public sphere T
is intrinsic to understanding this process, but it has long been limited h
e
by its division into the twin approaches of normative argumentation o
r
in democratic theory and empirical-theoretical application in the social y

sciences. o
f

t
This book aims to go beyond this entrenched divide to show how h
e
democratic theory can become empirically applicable and the social
P
sciences normatively relevant. It does this by linking democratic theory u
b
to the theory of society and relating both to a cognitive-communicative
l
i
account of public culture. The book contributes significantly to exchanges c

within and between sociology, philosophy, cultural and communication S
p
studies, political science, and cognate disciplines. It also aims to address
h
a long-established concern of critical theory by combining empirical and e
r
normative perspectives to advance the goal of a better society. e
P
a
t
r
i
Patrick O’Mahony is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of c
k
The Contemporary Theory
Sociology and Philosophy at University College Cork, Ireland. His O
work has been dedicated for many years to clarifying fundamental ’
M
normative and empirical-theoretical dimensions of public discourse and a of the Public Sphere
public culture, in fields such as nationalism and trans-nationalism, the h
o
environment, and science and technology. n
y
Patrick O’Mahony
www.peterlang.com
Peter Lang
The Contemporary Theory
of the Public Sphere
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
New Visions
C
of the osmopolitan
Series Editors
Patrick O’MahOny
tracey SkillingtOn
University College Cork, Ireland
VOluMe 1
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© th Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
The Contemporary Theory
of the Public Sphere
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© th Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
National bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
O’Mahony, Patrick, 1957-
The contemporary theory of the public sphere / Patrick O’Mahony.
pages cm. -- (New visions of the cosmopolitan ; 1)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0343-0146-6 (alk. paper)
1. Civil society. 2. Political participation. 3. Social sciences--Philosophy. 4.
Political science--Philosophy. 5. Democracy--Social aspects. 6. Political sociol-
ogy. I. Title.
JC337.O43 2013
300.1--dc23
2013004987
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red Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
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itan All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
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bm the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
To Daniel
and to the dear memory of Mary and Michael
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
Contents
List of Figures and Tables xi
Foreword xiii
Introduction 1
Part 1 Normative Teories of Democracy, Communication,
and the Public Sphere 37
Chapter 1
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ser sth Models 39
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hcsn Rawlsian Liberalism and the Idea of Public Reason 49
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bm Te Radical Tradition: Public Contestation of Subjugation 91
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O’Mahony, Patrick. The Contemporary Theory of the Public Sphere, Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der
viii
Chapter 6
Deliberative Democracy and Public Deliberation 129
Chapter 7
Te Communicative Turn in Democratic Teory 153
Part 2 Habermas, Democracy, and Public Culture 163
Chapter 8
Discourse Ethics, Democratic Discourse, and the
Teory of Society 165
Chapter 9
Deontology and Democracy: Limits to the Primacy of the Right 197
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r sth Democratic Teories and the Teory of Society 227
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e and the Public Sphere 255
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